Star Wolf Story
by Desert Poppy
Summary: Takes place after Assault about the way Wolf lives and where he's going. First fic, please review!
1. Chapter 1

Star Wolf Story

Chapter One

_The room was dark and murky; the only light entering was from a tall window, with shaggy green curtains. A beaten table and plush but heavily used couch decorated the messy room. In the corner lay a female wolf on the floor near the window crying. What's wrong?_ _I thought. I turned over on my back, for I was lying on the floor as well, and looked up at the progressing shadow. Fear instantly gripped me, and my eyes grew large as my breathing became labored. He was walking closer and closer to me; it didn't even look like his feet were touching the ground. Instead he was gliding in a haunting, evil way, and a large piece of wood was by his side. Still scared, I looked up into his face, but could only see row after row of teeth, because of the poor lighting. His teeth were showing because he was smiling—not because he was happy, but because of what he was about to do. The sobbing in the backround increased, but I barely noticed it, for my eyes were glued on the large two-by-four that he was holding. Couldn't even run if I could, he would easily catch me. No way out. He glided to a stop in front of me and raised the chunk of wood. I closed my eyes and prepared for the worst. _

_Bzzzzzztttt_! The alarm beside my bed awoke me from my dream instantly. I sat up panting while sweat dripped down my back. I held my forehead with my palm, elbow resting on a knee, shaking my head slightly trying to forget the dream that had just occurred. _Third dream this week_, I thought. _How much more pain could I take?_ Suddenly there was someone rapping on my door.

"Wolf, you up yet? I can still hear your alarm." Sure enough, the stupid alarm was still buzzing now reading 7:02.

"I'm fine Leon, be there in a minute," I called to the person outside my door, while shutting off the alarm.

"Nya…don't be long." I could then hear him walk away. I sighed and pushed myself up from the bed. I dressed quickly, not only because my friends were waiting for me, but today we had a small mission to do. Our pay wasn't that much, but it was enough to keep us alive, especially now that we became fugitives and have bounties on our heads. So why does this guy whom I'm about to meet doesn't seem to mind that small fact? It's because he knows what an ace pilot I am. I am, after all, Wolf O'Donnell, leader of the Star Wolf Team. But enough of this! How embarrassing to be the leader and wake up later than your teammates!

I swung open the door, and started my sprint down the fairly crowded hallway. Passing by an elevator because there were already too many people there, I raced downstairs skipping every third or fourth step while avoiding folks who were all too curious as to where I was going in such a hurry. When I reached the bottom, I slowed down to a power walk. _Don't wanna seem like I woke up late then raced here,_ I thought. I reached the room we were supposed to meet at just as my other partner, Panther Caruso, came striding in, and behind him was Leon Powalski. I smirked slightly, fortunate that I wasn't last, but first. But then…where was this guy we were supposed to meet? I glanced at the messily scrawled note that was left for me yesterday. It said to bee here a little after seven. _Bailing out on us, huh?_ I thought as I crossed my arms and twitched my tail impatiently. Finally a female lion entered.

"Sorry I'm late," she said. "You are team Star Wolf, correct?"

"Obviously," I said wondering if she really wrote the note. It was so messy I thought a guy had wrote it. "What do you need?"

"My boss had ordered me to retrieve a memory card from a base. He told me it didn't matter how I got it or who helped me. I would've gone myself, but last night I sprained my ankle, and I didn't want to risk going because the base is pretty dangerous." Glancing down quickly, I noted that she was indeed standing more to one side, foot slightly raised. Maybe that's why she was late.

"Mm-hm, sounds good enough to me, but how much money would you say we'd be paid?" The chameleon hissed slowly.

"Leon, money shouldn't matter when a pretty lady in distress needs our aid," Panther said smiling to the lioness. I rolled my eyes and sighed for the second time that day. Leave it to Panther to start wooing the ladies—and already so early in the morning! The lioness looked over at me and smiled slightly.

"Do not worry, I will not let you down if you don't let me down."

I nodded. "Deal then," I said while shaking her firm hand. "Just give us a bit more information on the location."

"Of course! By the way, my name's Sandra, and you'll be going to an old warehouse on the planet Plyght. It's a large brown one, not too far from here; I'll send you the location on your P.D.A. Is that alright?"

"Fine," I responded. I was already turning around.

"Ah, Sandra," Panther started in again. "Such pity that your ankle is hurt. How about if Panther helps you—"

"C'mon', lover boy," Leon said grabbing and pulling his arm. "Mission comes first." I found it amusing how he said "mission" as "misssssion."

"That's right!" I barked. "Move it!" Leon walked out first followed by Panther who shuffled along. "We'll be back," I said not bothering to turn around.

"Good luck!" Sandra called out after us. _Like we'll need it, _I thought. From what I just heard, it seems as this mission is going to be child's play.

Returning a few hours later, I yawned while tossing up and down the prized memory card.

"Not too hard of a mission, ay? I was hoping for something more," Leon said yawing, probably catching it from me.

"Does not matter to Panther due to fact we can see Sandra sooner."

"Correction," I said. "You can see Sandra sooner." I laughed slightly.

"Very true Wolf. Are the ladies all you ever think about?" Leon asked casting a glance in his direction.  
"Oh, heavens no," he said shaking his head. "Panther also cares about his friends and surviving in this cruel world."

"Well I'm glad we matter to you, but—hey!" I stopped short looking around the room we had met in earlier. "Where is she?" No one was there.

"She fled! Whatta scardey cat! I m-mean, uh…" Leon stuttered looking at Panther again. He was after all, a cat of sorts.

"Does not matter. Let's just find her."

I nodded. "Let's take separate floors. Panther will stay on this floor, Leon, you'll go down and I'll go up. Meet back at my door in twenty." Leon and I then walked to the stairs and split as we went our separate ways.

Walking down the hallway, I couldn't help but notice what a dirty dump this base was. The floor and walls looked as if they hadn't been cleaned in years. Is this really what my team's come to? Did we really have no place better than this to stay in? Probably; people around here don't care who we are. Still…I paused causing some people to walk around me. Maybe tomorrow we'd leave. Telling myself this was a good idea, I walked on again and pushed against double doors leading into a dinning area. An unpleasant odor rapidly filled my nose. I wrinkled it, thinking it was either a blessing or curse that I had an amazing sense of smell because I'm a wolf.

I shoved aside some people and looked to my left. I blinked and instantly forgot about the smell, because for whom did I see? None other than Little Miss Sandra. She was walking to a table—walking just fine! And without a limp! And sat down with a bunch of guys. I snarled to myself thinking—_What!? That dirty little—! She tricked us! What was she thinking, was she testing us!?_ I took a large breath to calm myself down—better not let her see me upset. I took a quick glimpse at the men seated around her. Looked nothing more to me than a bunch of stupid troublemaker punks. Still, I hesitated because of my disliking of crowds and groups. Unfortunately, a guy from the group looked up at me, then whispered something to Sandra. I took another quiet breath, and walked up as if nothing was all that much wrong. Keeping my eye fixed on Sandra's, I steered myself to the side, crossed my arms and stooped low.

"So," I said quietly. "How in the world did your ankle heal so fast? Seriously, tell me for I'd like to know in the future. Might come in handy, ya know?" Before she could answer, a thug sitting next to her slammed his palm on the table.

"Hey wolf boy! She doesn't have to tell you anything! Got that!?" Ugh. See that's a reason there why I hate crowds. Other people were always butting into your business. I stared at him expressionless, but didn't say anything.

"I'm assuming you have the card?" Sandra said, almost sweetly looking up at me.

"And I'm assuming you have the money? After all, it was you who said if I didn't let you down, you wouldn't let me down." Whispering was heard amongst the group to one another.

"Why yes, but may I see if you have it? She said in that awful syrupy voice.

"Wouldn't it make more sense in you giving me the money?"

"Hey gramps! Why don't you take it easy? No one's gonna hurt you." Another thug had spoken up.

Gramps! I snapped up straight and snarled slightly again. I couldn't help it. Who were they calling gramps? I wasn't even thirty! These punks were probably at most four years younger than me! What? Was it because my fur is grey and these idiots associate grey as being old!? Or did I merely look mature? While I was thinking this, a few of them looked sort of nervous. _Good!_ I thought almost smirking.

All of a sudden, Sandra whacked the folks around her. "Nock it off guys. He's still young." She then turned and smiled at me. My stomach lurched a bit. Why does she keep looking at me like that? This was getting disgusting if you know what I mean. "Here," she said holding out a check. I almost took it, but then thought—what if it was another trap meaning it was fake? Nobody knew this but me, but I scanned the paper quickly by using my left eye. It was lost many years ago, and I recently upgraded it to what it is today. It can scan whatever I want to and even record and analyze things.

It turned out to be real so as I was taking it, I dropped the memory card in her already open hand. Before she could say or do anything in the flirting department, I quickly said, though somewhat stiffly, "Nice doing business with you." I turned and walked away in a hurry. Twitching my ears back, I could hear them laughing and talking in a most unpleasant way. I stormed out and found an exit leading outside. I needed air to cool my raging body.

I walked out on the almost deserted lot of sorts, and felt a little better. There was a cool breeze, because the sky was mostly overcast. The wind was relieving me of the heat my thick fur was trapping. A rattling noise came from somewhere nearby. I looked down at my hand to find it still gripping the check. I was so mad, I forgot I was holding it. I didn't even look at it to discuss the price with her. I couldn't believe I had let my rage get the better of me—usually I'm better at holding in my emotions. _Oh, well, _I thought. _Once in a while is ok._

I held up the check and looked at the price. _Hmm, not bad but not excellent. At least it will keep us alive for a while, and we can buy supplies. _Thinking of this, I suddenly realized I was supposed to meet the others in twenty minutes! I'm sure it's been longer than that, I couldn't tell—none of us had watches, it was just another cost to us and they were actually pretty expensive. So we would estimate the time. I quickly ran back to the door, but found it locked. Great! Just great! Now I have to go all the way around. In frustration, I kicked the door. Suddenly I heard a rumbling noise as a large shipment truck pulled and two guys got out. I swiftly bolted around some boxes that were placed near the door and waited. Those guys sure were taking a long time loading up their carts and such for delivery. Finally they were ready, and fortunately were heading in my direction to the locked door.

"C'mon, c'mon!" I quietly urged them. They obviously didn't care too much for their job and were animatedly talking to each other. I usually wouldn't have cared as to what they were saying, but they were walking so slowly and talking with bright eyes full of adventure that I eavesdropped.

"…totally awesome! Whoever protects the planet and gets rid of the boss will automatically gain enrollment at Tavoka Air Force Academy! Don't you know the school's all brand new—just seven years—and already it's high ranking? It's up there with Corneria and Aquas, maybe even better!" The second man did a little dance while pushing the heavy cart.

"Eh, maybe I should give it a shot. I may not be the best flyer, but if I wind up saving Katina, then they gonna have to accept me! They'll train me n' I'll be the best with lotsa money to boot! Eh-heh! It'll get me out of this here job!" I shook my head—these guys were pathetic! But…

I subconsciously noticed the workers prop open the door and walk inside. My mind was racing as I gripped the boxes. I suddenly stood up knocking over the box I was holding. It was all perfect!

"Thanks a lot losers!" I called out into the empty lot and ran back inside. A few people glanced at me wondering why I was walking in from an "Exit" door, but I ignored them and walked back to my friends who were waiting for me.

"Ooo, look, Wolf's late for the first time! So where were ya?" Leon leered at me as he leaned over to look at giveaways on my face.

"I'll tell when I want to!"

"Did you find her? And the money…?" Panther asked anxiously.

"Right here!" I said pulling the check out high. Panther made a grab at it, obviously to see how much was on it, but I whisked it out of his range. "I'll hold on to it Panther, don't want you using it on any girls tonight." Leon suddenly burst out laughing when I said that. It wasn't all that pleasant, hearing Leon's laugh, but nonetheless was nice to hear because none of us laughed all that much.

"Yeah, nya, nya! Spend all our money on a rich gal, ay? Blow our money clear outta the water!" Then he started laughing again. I got the feeling Panther wasn't appreciating the laughs so I shut Leon up quick. In the nicest possible way of course. Just kidding.

"Hey!" I yelled so loud a few passerby looked over at me and bumped into each other. "C'mon, enough of that! People would think you're mad! If you keep up this horrific laughing you'll end up with a hernia! Let's go inside," I finished quietly turning them around and pushing their backs, leading them into my room. Once in the room I filled them in on what I had overheard.

"Ooo, sweet," Leon hissed again, rubbing his hands together in a greedy sort of way.

"But shouldn't we leave as soon as possible? Obviously others around space must know of this and are planning to take out the boss themselves. Is Panther not right?"

"Of course! That's why we leave tomorrow! So ready your gear and I expect to see you awake at five! And no grumbling this time about lost beauty sleep! Both of you! I'll go ready the ships." I turned and walked out. Before I could even reach the threshold, the two were talking so that I could hear.

"He's the one who got his beauty sleep today."

"Head that Leon!" I called over my shoulder. The two just snickered, but I didn't care.

"He gets so excited when there's a new mission, no?" I was already too far away to answer. I looked out a fogged and dirty window and quickened my pace. Those clouds I had seen earlier had grown dark. It didn't matter to me if it rained here; Katina usually only got dust storms and that didn't slow our ships down. I walked outside (using a correct door this time) and walked over the ship lot, where others had parked their ships. I located our three Wolfens and headed over to them. A large, cold raindrop suddenly fell on the end of my nose with a splat. _Ahh,_ I thought. _I didn't beat the rain!_ Dozens of raindrops fell from the sky sprinkling the cracked cement as people hurried from their ships to the safety of a dry building. I crawled under the wing of my ship and listened to the rain beating down on top of the wing, which now had turned steady and hard. But I remained dry and looked out at a few more people rushing towards the building, holding whatever they could over their heads to keep dry.

Suddenly a large hippopotamus came strolling along with an umbrella and was looking all important. He was security, checking over the ships and was coming my way. He usually just passed by each ship, but when he reached the Wolfens he stopped short and muttered to himself, while tapping the outside of the ship.

"Hmm, nice ships. Now I think I know who these belong to, let's see." He rubbed his chin with his free hand and looked thoughtful.

I crawled out and stood up saying, "They should look familiar! These ships belong to team Star Wolf! Know where I can get any good parts? " I added at the end. He gave a little yelp of surprise and fumbled with his umbrella, soaking me in the process by all the rain that had collected on top. I spluttered a bit, then shook most of the water off my fur, sending more water in more directions.

"Oh, oh my! So sorry Wolf! Didn't see you there! Ah, here! Take this umbrella! I have a spare, let's see, right here!" Mr. Fumbling Bumbling Security Guard clumsily handed me the one he was holding, and pulled one out that was clasped to his belt. "Ah, yes, much better! Huh? Parts? Why yes! Follow me!" He started at a fast trot, his shinny black boots splashing heartily along the puddles while I followed, my own boots shedding water, but not as heartily. We walked on for a while, but soon stopped at a tired looking brown building with peeling paint and cobwebs.

"Just take what you want off the shelves and pay at the counter of course!" No duh. I unfolded the umbrella and handed it back to him but he didn't take it from my hands. "Noooo, this is yours! Will keep your head dry while working on those good lookin' ships!" Without asking to, he grabbed my hand and shook it, quite hard and vigorously. Then he turned around and marched off, ready to do more "important" work. He looked like he was more interested in looking at the ships than protecting them. I shook my head and entered.

There sure were a lot of parts in the store, and I was surprised to see how much bigger it looked on the inside. For twenty minutes I looked around debating to myself which part I wanted and how much would I be willing to spend? Suddenly I felt that someone was behind me. I turned around slowly and saw a skinny white and brown dog with an unlit cigarette dangling out of his mouth.

"Find anything you like?" He asked grinning widely revealing a few missing fangs. "Special discount for you." He slithered closer and looked up at me. If any one else had looked at him this close, they would have been long since outta here. But I looked back at him.

"Ahh, no thanks—"

"Yessss, allow me!" He snatched a box from out of my hands and walked away a bit then said, "Bring the rest." I followed him with the boxes I was holding without comment and set them on the counter. He walked slowly around behind the counter and started ringing up the items I had. While doing so, I looked into the back and saw a female dog, obviously his wife, smoking while playing cards with someone. Not looking up he said, "Me wife and kids. Got any little ones of your own?" He suddenly looked into my eye.

"Uhh, no." Actually I've never even gone out on a date before, though many a times girls tried to win me, but I turned them away. If anything, I would hope to date another wolf, because wolves are slowly decreasing in numbers.

"Of course not, course not. Too busy saving worlds. But don't you have a bounty on your head?" He leaned over at me and it was all I could do to not pull away from his stench. But I didn't answer his question. After staring at me for a bit more he pulled away, and gave me my total that obviously had major discounts. I paid him and he grasped the money smiling that creepy grin again.

"Come again," he hissed. I grabbed the ten or so boxed and left the building still feeling his puny eyes bore holes in the back of my head. I pushed open the door with my waist and entered the rainy lot again, this time not bothering to put up my umbrella. I made my way back to the ships, and started working on them till I finished which was in a couple of hours. During that time I never stopped turning around once in a while, searching for that old dog. But I never did see him. I threw the boxes in an overflowing trash can, and made my way back to the base, slowly not caring about the rain pouring down my neck into my clothing. I shook myself off again, trying hard not to leave large puddles around for someone to tip on and blame me.

It was probably around 10:30 p.m. and I hadn't had anything to eat all day. I saw some guy bash at a vending machine, cursing because he lost his money to it because it didn't give him the item he wanted. He stormed away still, cursing as I made my way up to it, boots squishing on the floor. I saw the item he wanted, for it was half-dangling. I put some coins in, and chose the item he had and out popped his and mine snack. I couldn't help thinking _Sucker!_ as I walked back up to my postage stamp size of a room. Still hungry after my pint sized snacks, I threw off my wet clothes and packed for tomorrow. That night, I had no dreams.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"Wake up! Wake Up! C'mon, man! We don't have all day!" A groan was heard from inside Leon's room.

"Quit kicking the door," he said hissing. "Alright, alright, I'm up, go 'way." Before he had even finished the sentence I had started walking towards Panther's room. It was only 4:50; I awoke before my alarm went off then threw on my still damp clothes and packed my few belongings in my sling-sack. Panther's room was around the next hall. I walked briskly there and as I turned right, I was surprised to see him outside his door leaning against it, ready to go!

He must have known that I was surprised because he smiled and said, "Panther knew you'd probably wanted us up by now so Panther got up before five."

"How long have you been up?" I asked thinking he'd been up way before five.

"Just fifteen minutes. Panther got packed and is waiting to leave!"

"Me too. Why don't you go down to the lobby and check us out? The room number I was in was 412. Leon's not up yet, guess I'll—" Suddenly my stomach let off a loud growl reminding me I had only eaten two kid-sized snacks the night before. "I was going to say that I'd head back to Leon's room, but I guess…" I trailed off scratching my head.

"Just think if we beat the guy on Katina, we'll end up at Tavoka! Then we wouldn't have to eat this junk!" Panther reminded me.

"Yeah, but all the same we should get something to go. I'll head on over to the dinning room. Got any money? I just realized I used up a lot on parts yesterday." There was no paying each other back in my team, because we all stuck together and shared it not to mention we only really used it for necessities.

"Oooh, you got parts? Can't wait to try the ships now! They've needed parts for a long time!" he said while digging in his pockets and pulling out a few folded bills.

"Yeah, I figured we needed an upgrade for our fight today."

"Is that what you were doing yesterday? You smell like rain. Is it still raining?"

"Probably. It shouldn't slow us down. See you in the lot," I said turning towards the dinning area.

"Get me a krumpt while you're there," he called after me.

"Good idea," I called back. A krumpt was basically a buttery roll filled with vegetables and lots of meat. It'd be convenient for eating on the run. I got one for all of us and just as I was heading out of the nearly empty room only filled with a few early birds, can you guess who just happened to walk in?

Sandra. What fun. She saw me and bounded over.

"Why hello there, Wolf," she said smoothly and grinned that flirty smile. "What are you doing?"

"Leaving," I said shortly, brushing her as I walked briskly towards the exit of the dinning room. Oooh, that was harsh, and I loved it! But that didn't throw her off as she raced after and walked beside me.

"Why you up so early? Going somewhere?" she said while grinning up at me.

"That's not really any of your business, now is it?" I snapped. She didn't even flinch; she just continued walking as if I didn't even say anything.

"I'm heading over to Katina! I hear there's a little war going on over there."

"Where did you hear this from?" I asked as if interested in the topic.

"Oh, I heard it from some of my guys who heard it elsewhere," she responded casually waving her arm around.

"Huh. Because I heard it was on Macbeth."

"Are you sure?" she said with an edge of panic in her voice. "Isn't Macbeth kinda far?"

"Nah, not really. And no wonder they got it confused; the two planets look similar."

"Well, if you're sure…"

"Yeah, totally. See ya." I walked away heading downstairs towards the aircraft lot smirking. I saw Leon ahead of me and caught up with him. Now all three of us were at the door leading out into the lot. But we weren't all that eager to leave at the moment, because the rain had increased during the night and now fell like heavy bucket loads.

Panther crossed his arms slowly and tapped his boot impatiently saying, "Panther wishes not to wet his fur! It takes hours to dry!"

"Yeah, yeah, quit complaining. Let's see…here!" I said pulling out the umbrella the security guard had given me from my sling-sack.

"Thanks," Leon and Panther both said reaching for it, but once again I pulled it out of their grasp saying,

"It's for me! I already got wet once!" I pointed to my damp clothes. "I'm surprised I didn't catch cold!"

"You're still wet so why not keep one of us who's already dry, dry? Like me, I don't even have fur to keep me warm!"

"Boo-hoo to you Leon! At least it doesn't take you long to dry off!" Panther retorted.

"Enough bickering!" I growled. "Here!" I said smacking the umbrella into Panther's stomach as Leon glared at me. "What? It makes more sense if you think about it." We stepped cautiously outside under an awning still dry. All at once we bolted towards our ships, hopped in, started them, and took off easily escaping the planet's atmosphere heading towards Katina while quietly munching on our krumpts.

"Nya, can't wait to beat those losers!" Leon said breaking the silence. "Now we'll finally get the respect we deserve!"

"Can it air-head! This is probably going to be difficult. I don't want to see either of you bending. And don't get cocky with me! Keep focused. It's not much longer now. When we get there get into formation eight."

"Yes, Wolf," Panther and Leon said seriously. We rode on in silence again for a while. I had to admit, upgrading the Wolfen's was a good idea; they were flying more smoothly then they had in months.

"I also put in new radar equipment. It'll help with any sandstorms we might encounter." I informed them. "Is everything working well for you guys?"

"All's well."

"Yep."

"Alright! There it is," I said pointing at Katina through the glass in my cockpit. "Let's go!" We sped up entering the rough, rocky planet. Unfortunately there was already a heavy dust storm going on, but Leon and Panther had already formed together in formation eight which when we flew along, looked like a triangle with me at the lead. This enabled us to stay close by without ruining any air currents, kind of like birds flying in a V-shape. It actually helped us to fly faster and more efficiently. I looked about me from what I could see through the sandstorm, and noticed that there were already so many fighters roaming about and Solar had just barely risen. I recognized a few ships from various planets such as Titania and Aquas and of course Corneria. We spotted the "bad guys" easily because they were all alike. In fact they almost looked like…

"Don't they kinda look like Aparoids?" I said remembering the battle I had with my teammates and Star Fox a little over a year ago.

"Yeah, now that you mention it…" Panther said rubbing his chin, then firing at two more of them.

"Nya, what does it matter? Let's find the boss!" We sped along and slew the enemy droves. The battle was more intense as we continued our course and other ships were left behind. Suddenly, the storm subsided and we were able to see much more clearly. There was only one other ship that had gotten so far besides ours, and as I looked at it, it looked oddly familiar.

"Isn't that a Cornerian ship, an Arwing?" I muttered to myself. I could only hope that it wasn't that stupid Fox guy who always made me look like the bad guy and probably never thought once what life was like for me and my teammates. The ship obviously spotted us as it suddenly sped up, towards us while blasting a few more bogies.

"Well look at who it is!" A familiar voice emerged through my intercom. "It's the circus!" I frowned at that and looked through into the Arwing's cockpit. Aww man, it was one of Fox's friends, that bird. Now what was his name? Oh yeah. Falco Lombardi.

"What do you want featherhead? You're in our way!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you wanted your butt creamed by these guys so badly!" Geez, what a jerk. I didn't respond. See? I'm usually good about controlling my emotions. But Falco usually let his feelings get the better of him.

"You're boring me; I don't have time to talk to the likes of you," I told him with a half closed eye.

"Yeah, well, at least I don't have to constantly avoid the space cops! Don't you belong in jail or somethin'?" Ooh man! He never stopped!

"Where's your friends birdie-boy? Got tired of them again? You can't seem to hold on to your friends can ya?"

"Good one Leon!"

"Nya, nya! Thanks Panther!"

What Leon said seemed to make Falco mad. He didn't do anything really, but you could just tell by the way he got real silent. Then I decided to say something back at him. "You do realize what the award is for beating the boss right? Enrollment to Tavoka. What? You got bored of the Cornerian Air Force or somethin'?" Whoop. There goes the bird's blood pressure. Ha! Man, he totally deserved it, the way he and his teammates always treated us!

He looked clearly disgusted as he tried to say, "Alright, knock it—"

"Look at the little birdie! Panther has never seen him so upset before!"

"Aww, I think he's blushing!"

"We finally paid him back what he deserves!"

"Nya! Soon he will call us heroes! How does that feel looser?"

I let Panther and Leon canter back and forth insults until I thought it was time to move on. When I looked over at Falco his face was twisted both in anger and did I detect a hint of sadness? "C'mon, let's go. We can't sit around talking to this peacock all day can we?" Of course when they heard that I called him a "peacock," they started laughing harder than I ever could imagine.

"P-peacock!" Panther could hardly control himself. "Panther must remember that for next time!" Then he and Leon started all over again. I, myself thought it was somewhat funny, but I remained sober and again looked over at him. He tried looking mad, but I could tell he was trying hard not to cry. I zoomed ahead, past Falco who was in front of us all, and put on my retros.

"I don't to wait all day for you two hyenas!" I yelled, then zoomed forward leaving them behind. What? I wasn't all bad, even to my rivals. The two stopped laughing and were following silently behind. I also noted on my radar that Falco was moving forward, but obviously not with us; he had traveled along far to the left.

We continued on, and man were there a heck of a lot of thugs to beat! I dodged, barrel rolled, U-turned, everything I could to avoid all the space-like bugs, but still received a few hits. They were swarming around us like bees and man was it crazy! I panted a bit from the heat that had collected in my cockpit from Solar's rays as it rose higher and from the effort I used dodging and blasting the bugs. Somehow we left them behind and continued flying over the rocky, dusty terrain. Something blipped on my radar, just as I noticed it for myself. It was a lone ship, resting miles below us with a figure sitting on its wing. It didn't look like it was having problems so I flew on, and as it grew closer I took notice of the signature printed on the side of the ship. It was just a large fancy "T". _"T" as in "Tavoka"?_ I wondered.

An incoming call came on the intercom: "Hey, who are you three?" The voice asked. I slowed down my ship so I wouldn't race past the guy sitting on his ship. Panther and Leon followed suit.

"We're team Star Wolf," I responded.

"Ah, yes, I know of a Star Wolf. I hear you have large bounties on your heads." Damn! Was that how everyone recognized us!? What was that, like, my third reminder that I had practically the entire universe looking for me!? I didn't answer.

He continued. "I work for the Tavoka Air Force Academy, and I'm quite pleased with the three of you; no one's ever gotten this far before!"

"Why are the people at Tavoka giving out a reward of enrolment to the school and Katina not offer anything?" I said as I slowed my ship down to a stop. I've been wondering about this for a while. I knew Katina didn't have any Air Force, but only a few bases for mercenaries and pilots to rest at.

"A good point. We are good friends with Katina and they asked for our help, and of course we accepted. But many of our best pilots were away for a training mission… and Katina felt bad asking other young warriors to help them out with no reward… well, let's just say we were the ones that ended up giving a reward."

"Any idea what the boss is, and why he's here?"

"Nope. No clue," he said standing up on the wing of his ship, placing one hand on his hip and the other at his eyes blocking out the harsh light from Solar. I could make him out more clearly now that he was standing; he was a middle aged lemur. "Just parked myself here this afternoon. I was waiting around hoping a skilled fighter would come this way, and I found three! Oh, yeah. The name's Rick by the way. Sergeant Rick." I was about to ask another question but he cut me off. "Questions will come later. Just come back out safely! Good luck!" he said waving an arm. I blinked at him for a second then sped off, Panther and Leon right behind me.

"That was…interesting," Panther noted about our encounter.

"Yeah, well, let's keep moving," I told them. I suddenly realized that the falcon wasn't anywhere to be seen. Must have been left in the dust. I also thought it was peculiar that there was almost no monsters to shoot.

"Must be getting closer, no?" Leon commented.

"Yeah, guess so. Wait! What's that?" I pointed out into the distance as a large building or factory of sorts loomed closer.

"That would be where we are supposed to go, is Panther right?" Nobody said anything. As we got closer, I saw the large, threatening doors slowly unfold waiting for us to enter. Not slowing down, we entered and found ourselves in a tunnel that was pitch-black. I flipped the switch that turned on my Wolfen's headlamps that were located on the underside of all four wings. They were tiny, but illuminated the whole place. The tunnel went on for quite a while but we never saw anything pop out at us. Finally we emerged in a large, and well lit room. I turned off the lamps as did the other two. There was no one in the room—yet—but I noticed a large hole in the ceiling leading somewhere. The room resembled the Aparoids' queen's lair, but was much larger and brighter. I've never actually been where the queen had been located, but had seen it on broadcastings and such.

"Spread out," I told the two. "And don't let your guard down for a second." They nodded and gritted their teeth as they flew around the room grasping their throttles hard. All we could do now was wait.

We waited, and waited, and how long I didn't know. We constantly kept looking up and waited for the boss to show itself. This was the correct place, right? All of a sudden, a huge roar snapped us to attention. We all looked up as we saw a metallic bug-like head with pincers emerge from the hole. The body appeared next—a rather long body with hundreds of legs. So the monstrous boss was a centipede. It roared again and started firing lasers from its mouth.

"Let's go! Start by taking off its legs!" I commanded. Instantly we started zipping around the beast, hacking off a few legs here and there all the while avoiding the monster's attacks. We were doing really well, when all of a sudden—

"Panther! Look out!" I quickly looked up to see Panther quickly flying away, but got snatched up in-between the centipedes' fangs.

"Yargh!" His ship didn't snap in two—our ships were stronger than that—but it was taking heavy damage. I sped over to the front of the creature and started charging my next shot. I aimed right at one of the pincers, and even though it was dangerous due to Panther being so close, I let go. A small explosion occurred as the pincer fell off and Panther put on his boost and sped far away in the corner of the room.

"Stand by!" I ordered him, just as another little explosion went off as his other fang fell to the cluttered floor. The monster roared in agony and, without warning, whipped his tail around which smacked into me and pushed me hard into Leon.

"Guh!" A lot of scraping of metal was heard as we untangled our ships from each other. I rubbed my head, which I had bashed into the side of my cockpit and found blood on my glove. I wiped the blood away best I could because it was dripping into my good eye. I raced underneath the centipede and started shooting at its sensitive underbelly. It curled up, and just floated there tight as can be. Leon had started a charge and waited for it to uncurl. As it stretched out slowly again, I started knocking off the remaining legs as Leon let go of his charge, which was aimed at the weak joints on its neck. I followed up with rapid fire of my own until the head fell off. The body hovered for a second before it fell into many pieces alongside its other parts that lay scattered on the floor. We ourselves waited for a while, silently breathing.

"Ah… good work team," I said while licking my muzzle because the blood was now traveling down my face in little rivulets. "Everyone ok?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Panther's ship has taken a beating!"

"Right, well, the boss is defeated and I still don't know how he got here or who made him, so let's head out—"

"Oh, I believe I can tell you who made him!" A voice bellowed out, echoed and re-echoed around the large dome-like room we were in. Looking up at the sphere in the ceiling I saw a brown ship fly in. "So let me see who the victors…are…" the guy in the ship trailed off after seeing us. Wait a minute! I knew that voice!

"Andrew!?" I blurted out.

"Wolf!?" he blurted back.

"What the—what the fuck was that all about!?"

"What was that!? What was that for!?"

"Panther wants some answers!"

"Huh? I thought you were dead!"

"SHUT UP!" I yelled silencing everyone. I looked over at Andrew Oikonny who was looking at all three of us with large, bugged out eyes. He obviously wasn't expecting us, like I him. "Did you make that!?" I snapped, pointing down to the disassembled centipede.

He glanced down to where I was pointing at. "Yeah, so what? It was fun."

"What!? Fun? Why did you even make it in the first place?"

"Oh, I have my reasons," he waived an arm around casually as if it were no big deal. "One of them was, well kinda a tribute to the Aparoids."

"Huh?" we said again. He made no sense! Bashed in the head too many times!

"And another reason is to tell the universe that Andrew is back and in control! Bwahahahahaha! Oh yeah! Not to mention I'm once again leader of Venom! Ehehehe!"

"Yeah, yeah, we already know."

"Shut it, lizard lips! You will learn to respect me!"

"What? Oh, I'm sorry. I guess you didn't realize that you're not on our team anymore! We're not gonna listen to you!" Andrew must have realized that I was going to come after him, because he darted through the hole with the three of us behind. He had gotten a head start and Panther was lagging behind, not to mention now my head had started to hurt and I was seeing a few sparks in my eye.

"Ehehehe! Can't catch up? What losers!"

"You're gonna regret this Andrew!"

"Am I? Well, I'll be back!" Aaaannnnddd… he was gone.

"Why do bad guys always have to say that?" wondered Panther. I laughed at that lightly then shook my head. I sighed.

"Let's head back," I told them when suddenly in the distance I saw a Cornerian ship leaving Katina, heading out into space. Hoo-ha! We did it all by ourselves! I wondered what he and his little buddies would think. Who cares! We found the place where Sergeant Rick was parked and landed nearby. He darted over to us as we climbed out of our ships.

"Wow, you're back! So did you beat him?"

"Obviously or we wouldn't be back!" Leon said crossing his arms.

"Uh-huh," he gave a slight smile and let it pass. "Yeah, well, I saw another ship fly off outta the factory. Wonder who it could have been?"

"Don't know," I lied. "Couldn't get a good look at him." Sergeant Rick suddenly turned to me and glanced at the large gash on my head.

"Oh, man, you're hurt! Vicki! Hey Vicki! Vicki's our nurse," he explained. A large tank rolled up and a nice looking golden retriever stepped out. She walked over and looked up at me with large, hazel eyes full of concern. Darn! I wish people wouldn't look at me like that! Her hand reached up to touch the cut.

"No, I'm fine. It's not that bad," I said brushing her hand aside but she flipped hers around expertly and instead grabbed my wrist.

"Come on, sir. If it's not cared for, it could get infected," Vicki said with a small smile and pulled me along to a tent that had been quickly assembled. I could hear Panther and Leon snickering behind me, because they probably detected a hint of romance in the air. Yeah right! Totally not my type! What sort of a wolf would date a dog anyways? Alright, I'll admit, she was pretty with those long silky ears…and she made me feel somewhat flustered but…no way! She sat me down and started cleaning my wound. I didn't say anything because I really didn't want to start a conversation…and not to mention she was concentrating so hard…

Suddenly a bottle filled with some purple liquid spilled over onto the floor.

"Oh, I am such a klutz!" she cried stooping over and sopped up the liquid with a rag.

"Are you new?" I asked. She paused with her wiping and answered me.

"Can you tell?" She looked up at me again, now with a worried expression.

To put her at ease I told her, "No, no, I was just wondering." Crud! I had started a conversation. Great. Now where would it lead to?

"I always wanted to do something to help others. I always was good at it when I was a kid but now I don't know…" she trailed off still looking worried but almost had tears in her eyes.

"Don't worry! You're doing a great job!"

"Am I?"

"Yeah, totally." Oh great. This is so not where I wanted it to lead. Now I looked liked a goody-goody with a soft side who was complementing her! I decided to change the subject to something more…professional in the hopes she would forget the mistake she had just made.

"So do you think Tavoka is really going to accept all three of us?" She stood up and continued dabbing something on the cut. I winced inwardly as the medicine stung.

"Oh, yes. I don't see why not. You guys were so cool." Oh, Vicki, don't start complementing me! If this went on she probably would look at me expectantly and wait for me to ask her to dinner or something.

I muttered, "That's good," nodded and remained silent. She went right on working until she strung a bandage around my head.

"There, I think that does it." She stepped back to admire her handi-work. I stood quickly and when I did so, she looked anxious. "Not so fast! You could get dizzy!"

"I'm fine," I told her again. "Thanks a lot."

"No problem. I'll be around if you need me." Then she turned back to her belongings and packed them up. I stepped out of the tent into the blindingly bright light, noticed two mechanics looking over our ships, and stepped into one of the other tents. Except…I didn't see any of my friends in there, and when I had entered everyone looked up at me.

"Uh, wrong tent. Sorry." I turned to go but—

"Wait." I turned back around. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am General Ram, the general of Tavoka Air Force Academy." The incredibly large built ram, though skinny, stood to shake my hand and I accepted it. "We all are extremely pleased what you and your teammates have done. And Katina's people as well! But enough of all the small talk, we need you to sign some documentations for us if you wish to be a part of Tavoka's Air Force. You do don't you?" I nodded. "Well, this would be easier, but we need to discuss the bounty on your heads." I remained silent looking at him. He stared back at me for a minute then continued. "There are three options for you. You can either spend a very long time doing community service, spend some time in jail, probably for four to eight months, or have part of your paycheck taken for about a year. It's up to you, but choose wisely; this affects your teammates as well, though I'm pretty sure you all don't want to go to jail do you?" He smiled slightly.

"I'll…what percentage would be taken out of our paychecks?"

"Let's see, about thirty I believe." Man, that was a heck of a lot!

"And will we be attending the school during that time?"

"Oh, yes. But we'll need to figure out where you stand level wise." I looked confused. "Our students are ranked by level, starting at one and goes up to fifteen. Those at level fifteen get to go on special missions that require more skill, can take better and harder classes, are paid much more, the benefits go on."

"Gotchya. Well, I think I'll take option three." The people in the room who were probably super intendants or something nodded and pulled out a chair for me. As I sat down, someone handed me an electronic pen and those who sat across from me pushed a floating device in front of me, which looked like a screen.

"This will take a while. We'll inform your friends what's going on, as they'll need to sign as well." Three people stood up holding more pens and screens, then left probably to give to Panther and Leon. _Guess it was just me and the big shots!_ I thought as I bent forward to start signing.

It was about two hours later when I finished. I stood up, stretching my spine and cracking the tight joints in my neck. Everyone else had already left. I left the screen where it was and walked outside. Solar was still shinning, but a few clouds had rolled over which emitted a slight breeze, which I was grateful for once again, because those tents sure can get awfully stuffy! I headed slowly over to where the group was and found them sitting on chairs and logs they had found. They had gotten a fire going and over it was a large pot, which produced many delicious odors. My friends weren't there yet, but I continued to walk at a snail's pace. Someone from the group spotted me and stood up waving their arms. Sergeant Rick turned around for his back was to me.

"Hey, Wolf! Come join us! Bet you're hungry huh?"

"Of course he is! He just completely bulldozed that space scum! Wolf! Tell us the story! Tell us what happened!"

"Boy he's a quiet one."

"Don't worry, he'll talk soon enough."

"No, that's a good thing! I don't tolerate talkers in my class!"

I walked over to Rick who had moved over on the log he was seated at, and sat down next to him. My black nose was instantly filled with whatever was coming from the pot. I was so hungry! I hadn't had a proper meal for a wolf as large as me for about…five days. Someone who was closer to the pot sent around a large bowl and spoon. The meal turned out to be a stew of some kind. But I didn't bother to try to identify the strange objects that floated around in it. I would eat just about anything now! But before I could even insert my spoon in the bowl, they started in again.

"So tell us what happened!"

"Yeah, how'd you beat it? My cousin tried, but couldn't even get in the building." These folks wanted the information from the best source—me—and couldn't wait for the papers to come out which would probably lie or stretch the truth. Sheesh. Suddenly I realized that Vicki was seated in the circle too.

She spoke up and said, "Leave him alone just for the night. I'm sure he's hungry and tired from today. How's your head doing?"

"Uh, fine." (I had actually forgotten about it.) My sensitive ears picked up on a few snickers that were muffled. _VICKI!_ I yelled silently at her in my head. _Don't start up with me again!_ She didn't get the message (of course) and smiled at me before she continued eating. I myself was eager to try some, but once again couldn't as the lemur leaned over and whispered in my pointy ear.

"Looks like a lady's interested in ya. And so soon! C'mon, tell me you're interested!"

"No," I said flatly trying to shut him up. He shrugged and went back to talking to a teacher next to him. I glanced up and saw a few guys grinning at me. I ducked my head as my face flushed slightly, but it went by unnoticed. Thank goodness for fur! I turned back to my food for the third time and took a bite. I was amazed by how it tasted! A whole rush of flavors entered my mouth, savory and just a bit spicy. I hadn't had anything so good in years! I quickly polished off my bowl as another was sent around. My stomach could probably hold about five bowls of the stew and I guess the others knew it too, for they kept sending it around till I was full. By then Leon and Panther were seated, and on their third bowl.

Dusk had started, but still everyone continued talking. I remained silent because Leon and Panther could only find places away from me. I turned to look at Leon who had been looking over at me. He gestured in Panther's direction and I turned to look. Of course, he got wedged by two girls. I looked back at Leon and rolled my eye. One by one, people from Katina and Tavoka turned and left waving good-bye, and thanking us all. By the time most of them had left, night settled in and stars littered the clear sky, free of sandstorms. General Ram stood up.

"Come on, all of you. Time to head back home." A large safari-like van pulled up. "We'll all head back to the ship now." And everyone scrambled on it to find the best spot. The three of us found a place seven rows from the back and we sat together in a line, Panther being seated next to me on my left. Before we started I noticed that the three ships had already been moved. I also took notice that Vicki was seated behind me. The engine started up quietly—_must be new,_ I thought—and we were on our way, the wind in our faces. I tried not to move that much, as to not draw attention to my self from Vicki. Rick who was two rows ahead of me, turned around and winked. _Damn! Would you stop it!?_ I sent him another one of my silent messages. But the ride went on without incident. Vicki was busy talking to someone she knew. I sighed and put my hand on my chin and my elbow was resting on the base of the van. It wasn't an exasperated sigh, but a content one. I stared out at the vast plains, ignoring the chatter going on around me. As we rolled by, I noticed the factory we had battled at. It looked silent except for some security and police officers that were patrolling around. I looked at them and thought _it's going to take some getting used to, not constantly running away from the police. _

Ten minutes later, we jerked to a stop at one of the largest mother ships I had ever seen. A ramp had been dropped from the side, and everyone in the van jumped out. My friends and I walked towards it together. As soon as we entered the ship, I couldn't help but notice how everything was so new and spacious. There was a large window to the left of us, and many chairs placed around the area. A few people were seated there, waiting for the ship to take off. We stood off to the side, not knowing where we belonged. General Ram stepped up to us.

"We'll be at Tavoka in about two hours. You can do as you please until then, either washing up, or resting in the common room. Showers are upstairs, and the common room is down the hall," he said pointing up first, then to his left, our right. "And if you're still hungry or need something, don't hesitate to ask Sergeant Rick."

"Alright, thank you sir." I could tell he was pleased that I already called him "sir." He was being easy on us tonight, I could tell. He was probably going to be a real strict leader. He nodded then saluted—we saluted back—then turned on his heel and left. We stood there for a moment before heading upstairs. It's not like we needed it, mind you, but we wanted to appear especially clean to meet everyone, especially to those at school. The washing room had six private showers, which were also very spacious. We each stepped into separate ones and started them up. _Man, what another luxury!_ I thought as the warm water sprayed all over my tense body. I remembered not to get my bandage wet as I tilted my head to the side. Imagine Vicki doing it all over again! The others would surely believe I did that on purpose!

We finished, and then dressed quickly, walking down the red-carpeted hallway more slowly. Panther yawned lazily rolling out his pink tongue and revealed his sharp fangs while stretching. "Is this not delightful?" he asked.

"Mmm, yup. Sure is," Leon responded twisting his torso so it produced a satisfying "pop." "Ahh," he commented.

"Don't get too cozy," I warned them. "This isn't going to last long!" Leon, who was beside me, pushed me and I stumbled off my straight course.

"Looks like Wolf here did get too cozy, as usually he wouldn't have swayed off course!" He and Panther laughed as I playfully knocked the upside of his head with my hand. We never really let people see this side to us; teasing and having fun, but the hallway was deserted so I guess we felt somewhat giddy, talking and laughing. When we headed for the common room, we fell silent instantly. As we walked in, we saw everyone already there playing mind-challenging games, or talking. A few teachers were even grading their student's work.

We headed over to an empty large blue couch and sat down. I glanced down at the table that was in front of us and noticed three green buttons that were embedded in it. I knew what they were and leaned over to press one. The _e-paper_ popped up as the transparent screen floated a few inches above the table. An _e-paper_ was like a newspaper, except it didn't use paper. No one made newspapers anymore, but I've heard about them. I scrolled the cursor on, not finding anything interesting. I was about to hit the button again to close it, but an article caught my eye. "Heroic Team Saves Katina." I actually found it amusing they didn't put my team's name in the title, leaving it a nasty little surprise for those to find out, especially that Fox guy! Ha! I bet his feathery little friend had scurried off to tell his precious leader what happened. Either that or he was so embarrassed with not being able to beat the "bad guy" that he flew off. _Pah! Who cared?_ I thought as I closed the _e-reader _not bothering to read it. I settled back in the overly plush couch and waited. I must have dozed because I was suddenly aware of Leon shaking me a bit. I stood up with everybody else as Rick walked over to us.

"The ship's landed, although it's a bit dark," he added looking outside a nearby window. Sure enough, Solar had faded. "Shall we meet your new home?" He gestured us along. As we stepped off the ramp again, I took notice of a few things. The planet we had just landed on was hot and humid, probably their summer month. Second, the planet's gravitational pull was stronger then other planet's I had been on. And third; all three of us couldn't stop looking at Tavoka Air Force Academy. It was huge! Everything was all brand new and laid out spaciously. Even at this late at night, I noticed that the buildings were all in different colors. The ones with most of the lights on looked like dormitories.

They led us on to a more narrow blue building. As we neared, the doors slid open easily and stepped inside. Just like the outside, the hallway was real narrow, but long. On the left and right all the way down the hall were desks with receptionists waiting. General Ram seemed to appear out of nowhere and waived away all but Sergeant Rick. _Now what?_ General Ram brought his legs closer together and straightened himself to appear taller. I could hear Sergeant Rick shuffle a bit behind us. I blinked and stared patiently at the General, waiting.

He cleared his throat and said, "Once again I'd like to thank you all for what you have done. That was a true sign of bravery and I'll be expecting many more victories from you three." He paused before going on. "Tomorrow's going to be a busy day for you; lots of testing and such. So I expect you to rest up, you'll need it!" He then started to chuckle. "Ahem. Tonight I'll have someone take you to your temporary rooms. You'll stay there until we figure out what level you're at. And someone will wake you because I will still be working tonight and sleeping in! Pah ha! The hardships of being a general!" He started to turn, but glanced back at us. "Is that all you've got? Don't you have bags or luggage?"

"Uh, a-hem." My voice needed to warm up. I hadn't said a word for a long while. "Yes, they are still on our ships."

He then bellowed out which surprised us because it was so loud and the hallway was so tiny, "I'll have someone bring it up to you no worries! Just follow Sergeant Rick and goodnight to you all!" Before we could say anything more, he turned quickly and strutted away. We ourselves turned and waited for Rick who was still in some kind of shock.

"Right then, follow me." He led us on past all the large tables to an elevator. He hit number eight and almost instantly we were there.

"Wow, pretty fancy elevators," Panther murmured. But Rick didn't wait for us, and sped down a blue-carpeted hallway, like the color of the building. No one was in sight, which was a little eerie, but it didn't bother me. He reached a door that already had our bags placed on the floor outside of it, punched a code, and stepped _right over_ our luggage, leaving us to stoop down and grab it. Of course we couldn't say anything; he was our superior.

"Good night men!" he called out happily and was gone as well. The three of us stood there in our room for a moment, taking it all in. There were four beds two on each side, and the same blue carpet from the hallway, four chairs and one table and a—

"Humongous bathroom!" Panther noted instantly. "Wow, Panther can see every beautiful strand of fur with these mirrors and lightings!" _Here we go! _I thought.

"Nooo, bad Panther! Don't start in on the bathroom! We all know how long you take in there, right Wolf?" I nodded. "So a simple rule—let Wolf and I go first. Then you can take as long as you want." I snorted a bit. Leon was right.

"How about this? I go first; I'm the leader," I raced in there jokingly kicking Panther out, but Leon wouldn't let me close the door.

"Nooo, my idea! I go!" We were both pushing at the door, not giving up. Still playing, I released my hold on the door and Leon sprawled in on the floor. Panther and I started laughing like crazy. He stood up, a little sheepishly, and said, "Alright, you win," and left. We eventually all got ready and naturally started to fight over the beds. Once that was settled we climbed in and started talking about our day, laughing and still teasing each other.

I glanced at the clock that hung on the wall (which was also blue!) It was already one in the morning! "Time for bed," I told my team. "Who knows when they'll want us up? Could be five a.m., could be nine a.m."

"Right, right," Leon said stretching as we all settled in. "Nice beds, aye?"

"Yeah, totally," Panther agreed.

I myself turned over and closed my eye.


End file.
